To make it easier for Bristol firms to win city contracts, officials may revise the rules that govern the local bidding preference for municipal contracts.
City Councilor Ellen Zoppo said that a recent Rockwell Park contract showed why officials should review the bidding rules to make it easier for city firms to win contracts.
The city awarded a $1.6 million contract to Schultz Corp. to the initial work of renovating the historic park when a city contractor, Tabacco and Sons, offered to the do the job for only slightly more.
The city’s Board of Finance currently allows local bidders on contracts of less than $300,000 to match the best price and get the job if they are within 4 percent on the price.
Roger Rousseau, the city’s purchasing agent, said that in the years the policy has been in place, there’s been no sign that it’s cut into the willingness of out-of-town contractors to seek city business, an initial worry when the policy was enacted.
Officials said they picked the $300,000 arbitrarily and could revise it upward.
Rousseau told the finance board recently there’s been talk of reexamining the policy and commissioners might want to revisit it.
Mayor William Stortz said that many larger contracts include state or federal money that require the city to follow their guidelines on bidding, which don’t allow for local bidding preferences.
Finance commissioners said when they put the policy in place that they wanted to lend a hand locally to businesses that pay taxes in Bristol and offer employment to residents.
But, they said, they didn’t want to do anything that would result in taxpayers shelling out more money to get projects done and contracts filled.
Some communities have no upper limit for local bidding preferences and some allow firms as much as 10 percent off the low bid the chance to match it.
It’s unclear what, if anything, Bristol might change.
For those who are keenly interested, the Board of Finance subcommittee dealing with this issue is meeting at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday in the conference room of the city's purchasing department to talk about it, among other issues. I won't be getting up that early.
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Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
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